Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to multifunctional modular computer/operator/keyboard units for commercial use. More specifically, the present invention relates to such multifunctional units for use in the retail environment, such as a cash register.
WO 96/27861 A1 discloses an operator unit in which various input devices, namely a soft key bar, an input keypad and a swipe-through magnetic card reader are joined one to the other in any desired combination, but in a fixed arrangement, on a display unit. The devices have side profiles which correspond to one another so that the operator unit has the appearance of a monolithic block. The devices are designed and connected to one another in such a way that a duct is produced which runs through all the devices on their inside and which is also used as a cable duct. The connecting cables of all the devices can be fed through this cable duct to an outgoing cable unit which is common to said devices. The outgoing cable unit also serves as a means of mounting the operator unit on a stand.
The known arrangement permits adjustment of the angle of inclination of the entire unit. This may be sufficient if input media which only have to be operated by the press of a finger are used. However, if reading devices which also operate automatically, such as bar code readers or OCR readers, are used, only a compromise setting for the angle of inclination of the operator unit is possible. The same applies to a printer, for example a receipt printer, in which the intention is that a customer should also be able to access a printed product. A supplementary device, for example a pay terminal with a display and/or a keypad and/or a cheque card reader or money value unit reader, which would have to be operated both by a customer and by an assistant and which would be mounted on the block in this way would, however, only be able to be operated by one of the two categories of person if the entire operator unit were pivoted. However, a customer would then be able to access operator elements whose operation is reserved for the assistant.
Therefore, there is a need for an improved modular design concept for the operator unit of a device to such an extent that the various parts of the device can be adjusted relative to one another.